Almost 60 legal students at the King's Inns had their marks increased by 5 per cent in an examination after a complaint was made about a question which appeared on the paper.
The complaint was made by one of three people who failed to pass the exam in company law, taken last May by diploma students seeking access to the Bar's professional Barrister at Law course.
A final-year student, Mr William Fitzgerald, had petitioned the King's Inns' governing council for a review of marks after a question which he said the class was told would not appear on the paper did so. The appeal was made after a prior complaint from him to the college's education committee had been rejected.
A sub-committee, chaired by Mr Frank Clarke SC, was established by the governing council to investigate the issue. Upholding the complaint, it initially recommended that the bonus marks be given only to the three students who failed the exam.
However, this move was resisted by the education committee, which said the complainant had never raised the unexpected exam question with it. As a compromise, it was agreed all students would receive the bonus marks.
Explaining the sub-committee's decision, Mr Clarke said it had noticed the three students who failed "had done four questions moderately well and one badly which suggested they had been squeezed by there being inadequate choice."
He accepted that the lecturer's advice was not raised with the education committee, which was "surprised" by the allegation.
The additional marks gave the three candidates a pass in the exam, and meant Mr Fitzgerald had only to repeat three subjects instead of six.
Mr Fitzgerald, who was not available for comment last night, comes from a strong legal background. His father, Mr Jack Fitzgerald, is a Senior Counsel and his grandfather, Mr Billy Fitzgerald, was a former Chief Justice.
